Does anyone’s cat eat only dry food?

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

Our boy just turned two this week, and we adopted him in April last year. He was in foster care and eating Whiskas wet and dry, but never really bothered with the wet.

We transitioned him off the dry to Royal Canin biscuits, and have tried every wet food going, from cheap (Felix, Sheba, the aforementioned Whiskas) to raw (Katkin) and more expensive not-raw (Blink, Untamed) and he’s just not a wet food guy. He licks the jelly or gravy off, and sometimes will eat a whole pouch, but mainly it gets chucked in the food waste caddy.

He drinks plenty. Our previous cat didn’t drink much but ate all her wet food. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his appetite, he’s a happy boy with a shiny coat and loads of energy, so I am not concerned there is anything amiss medically right now, but I guess I worry about his kidneys in the future…? He is mad for “chicken yoghurt” (Lick-e-Lix) and gets one of those most days.

Cat tax attached from earlier today.

We have always had cats and always fed them Iams
The vet comments on how wonderful their teeth and coats are.
We soak a small amount of the dry food in water in the evening but the rest of the time it’s left as dry.
Our current cats, Bob and Dylan, won’t eat anything else and none of our cats have ever had any issues or health problems.

really cute cat OP

Both my cats used to like their wet food pouches twice a day chicken or beef in morning and fish evenings and I'd leave Purina kibble for overnight. They get a chicken breast between them once a week and like to share tuna in spring water about once a fortnight. Lately my girl cat only eats a bit of wet food but I've noticed she eats more of the kibble. They both look healthy so as long as they have a choice of both I think it's ok.

I was going to post to recommend Scrumbles lol!! Our 2 year old boy loves it and lives on it! He was a stinker in the litter tray when we adopted him a year ago, and Scrumbles saved my life!! Had to take him off Dreamies too because they made his poo a bit smelly too.

He licks a tiny bit of wet food and one of the other two scoffs the rest!! He has a water fountain and he does drink a good bit - I know because he is so noisy!!

My late ginger boy would only eat dry food. Quite simply, he wouldn't touch anything else and he had the option as our other cat only liked wet food pouches. He drank lots of water, had great teeth and was healthy until he had to be pts aged only 12 of something completely unrelated to his diet. Still miss that daft ginger lump.

He is beautiful! All cats are different, and almost all cats are fussy in various ways about food, so I wouldn't worry too much if he prefers [good quality] Canin dry kibble and is drinking water. I would agree with PPs to try tempting him with some very premium wet food from time to time.

Ridiculously cute cat!

We had one who was very much a dry food only type of guy. Would lick the soup part of cat soup on occasion but generally wasn't arsed by anything unless it was biscuits.

Fine till he ended up diabetic and dry food is the worst carbs wise, which isn't great for cats tbh. Ideally we'd have got him onto a low/no carb wet food but he point blank refused (even with the raging diabetes hunger!). It was really difficult getting his blood sugar down on the dry food. Diabetes is quite common in cats so it's something to keep in mind.

There's Thrive dry food which is good, and Beutenah cold pressed. You could see if you could shift him onto either of those which might be a bit better for him in the long run. The Beutenah is online only but they clearly know cats because they send you a wee sample pack so you can send the big pack back if they turn their nose up at it 😅

Now have a cat who will eat literally anything and some days I miss my fussy boy even more...eating a sandwich hits different when you've got a cat hanging off the other end of it 😂

@Pixiedust1234 Haribo was licking remnants of chicken gravy off the kitchen table last night. I give up with him. His alternative name is Get Off The Table. I've tried foil to deter him but he just sits on it.

I had two cats (lost them in the last two years at both nearly 19) who ate royal canin biscuits their entire life and had good teeth up until the end, zero tooth work.

I'm surprised you think it's an issue we were told to feed dry - adorable cat!

My 2 are assholes. Oscar is 3 and used to just get dried food but then I felt guilty so starred on purina gourmet pouches. Then got 2nd cat otis. Some says they'd eat 10 pouches between them then others they'd eat one mouthful and rest go in bin. Tried loads of makes even expensive ones and they were hit or miss. So now I get katkin frozen raw pouches and also have iams dried food out. Otis loves them and wolfs them down. Oscar eats a few mouthfuls but prefers the dried. So that's what they get now and can like it or lump it. Oscar wont even eat cooked chicken or anything. Tbf since ditching the pouches they both seem healthier and have way more energy.

I’ve tried my girl with a bunch of different expensive wet foods, with tinned tuna & fresh meat, but she never goes beyond a quick lick, although she does love Lick-e-lix. She’s on Iams sensitive digestion & likes it, though she’s not really food oriented.

Thanks for all the replies - no-one has told me it's not okay for him just to have dry food! I know boy cats are more prone to urinary issues, and because he eats so differently to our previous cat (who would lick her plate clean in two minutes flat) I find it strange, hence asking on here what others do. It's reassuring to hear different viewpoints.

Obviously today he has, in fact, licked his plate clean of Sheba as well as eating all his biscuits up, just to keep me on my toes! He's currently giving me side-eye from his cat tree while I work at the kitchen table, hopeful I might get up and make a snack.

Our newish cat (had her since August) primarily eats Purina One, but also has a pouch of Sheba (half in the morning, half in the evening) as that's what she had in her foster home before we got her.

Ah the lovely Louis - as handsome as ever! Elton will also only eat dry food, unfortunately. We have tried so many brands, including most of the ones mentioned above and he will occasionally have a nibble of a freshly opened tin or pouch, but steadfastly refuse to eat more - it's so wasteful! One thing I have noticed is that he is extremely fussy about texture - we have had (slightly) more success with pates than chunks, so it might be worth experimenting with that.
Because of his kidney issues, keeping him hydrated is essential so as well as water, we supplement his dry food with Smilla Cat Drink. This isn't a soup (which would be bad for him) it's closer to a thin broth and so far he really likes it.

Our vets have always recommended dried food only ( as long as they have plenty of water ) as it prevents tooth decay which can lead to other problems.

He just brought a sparrow in so he’s clearly supplementing his rations 😬

We just feed dry food. It’s much better for the environment - mainly consists of waste elements from human meat processing and you’re not transporting the additional water weight. I just add some water to the biscuits before I put them down. Cat laps up all the water and eats the biscuits.

I've got too fussy cats - both of them eats mostly biscuits - we buy a good quality one with high protien/low grain.
One will eat Gourmet Perle in gravy (wouldn't touch it when I got jelly by mistake) - his is about 6 now and has worked his way up to a whole pouch a day, previously it was hit and miss whether he would finish it,
The other will only eat chicken as an extra - i started buying the frozen ready cooked pieces for ease and now they will only eat those and not any fresh roast chicken etc - very strange! Neither will entertain the idea of the other ones food.
When we got them the shelter told us they ate Felix, we got some and neither would touch it.

My Siamese only has dry , she was having Felix pouches when she was younger but they must have changed them because she suddenly wouldn't touch them.

She's ten now , has a mixture of hills dental and hills for senior cats dry biscuits .

She's ten enjoyed some cat soup for her birthday and Christmas

She's not bothered for regular people food that you'd assume cats would like , she'd rather have a lick of mayonnaise ( Hellmans only) or some popcorn 🍿